Rich-huller.



UNITED STATES JOlIN W. STOKOE, OF JEANERETTE, LOUISIANA.

BICE-HUL'LER.

Specification of Letters I'atent.

Patented Aug. .27. 1907.

Application filed May 4,1907- Serial No. 371,839.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Join: W. STOKOE, a citizen of the United States,residing at .leanerette, in the parish of Iberia and State of Louisiana,have invented a new and useful Rice-Huller, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to rice hulling machinery and has for itsprincipal object to provide a mechanism of simple construction forthoroughly and effectively removing the hulls from rice and othercereals. i

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this type inwhich the grain is carried along between a plurality of hulling boardshaving serrated or toothed surfaces against which the grain is drivenwith considerable force and' ricochets from side to side in order toinsure thorough separation of the hull.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this classin which a pair of hulling boards are arranged in such manner as topresent a tortuous. or zigzag passage through which the grain is drivenby a blast of air or other fluid, the boards presenting ronghened orserrated surfaces for engagement with the grain ,during its passage.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thisclass in which the grain is divided into a thin sheet and forced in thisform against hulling surfaces by means of a blast of air or other fluid.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a pneumatichulling ,device in connection with a separator of such nature as toinsure the separation of the rice and the greater portion of the hullsby centrifugal force. I

' With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the invention consists in certain novel features ofconstructionand arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed outin the appended claims, it beingunderstood that various changes in theform, proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be madewithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention. p

In the accompanying drawings:]iigure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalelevation of a rice huller constructed in accordance with the invention.Fig. 2 is a detailperspective view of a portion of the same showingparticularly the feeding end. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of aportion of one of the hulling boards. Fig. 4

' .is a similar view of a modified form of board.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

formed in sections arranged zigzag fashion in order to form a tortuouspassage, so that the grain will be driven by the blast into 'contactwith the boards, and will bound from side to side in such manner as toinsure the removal of all of the hull from the rough rice. The hullingsurfaces of the boards are pro ided with ribs or serrations 12presenting fiat faces 13 at substantially a right angle to the directionof the blast, but the angle jmay, of course, be slightly altered, andinstead of continuous ribs extending across the board, a plurality ofspaced or scattered teeth may be employed with the same result.

The huller boards are of any desired width, and in practice will usuallybe of two or more feet. At the feed end the rice is introduced into thehopper 15 and passes through a discharge neck 16 having a suitable valve17, the rice falling by gravity into a feed passage 20 of a widthapproximately equal to that of the huller boards, and of such height asto accommodate the thin stream or sheet of rice allowed to pass throughthe neck 16. To the rear of this feed passage 20 is connected an airblast tube 22 having a suitable controlling valve 23, and the air'isdirected in the form of a wide blast or sheetwhich engages with the riceand carries the same between the huller boards, the rice being carriedalong with great force and striking against thehuller boards in order todisintegrate the hulls. The rice bounds from side to side so that allportions of the hull will strike against the roughened or serratedsurfaces of the board and finally pass through a discharge neck 25 whichleads into a separating hopper 26, the neck.

being disposed tangentially to the hopper, so that the mingled hulls andgrains of rice will whirl around within the hopper under the influenceof centrifugal force. The hopper is provided with a contracted dischargebottom 27 down which the rains of rice will travel by gravity, therice-clinging to the wall of the hopper owing to its acquired momentum,while the hulls will remain in the eddy formed by the current of air ator about the center of the hopper and may be carried upward to a pointof discharge.

i the width of said passage, a controlling valve for the neck.

and an air pipe connected to the passage at a point in adance of thedischarge neck.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I

have hereto alfixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN w. STOKOE. r

Witnesses:

J. Ross COLHOUN,

C. E. DOYLE.

